India Business News

Aiming to help small businesses find their customers, e-commerce portal Snapdeal on Wednesday launched 'Shopo', a mobile-based marketplace. "It is an app platform. It is targeted at small sellers, artisans, individual sellers and home entrepreneurs. It is a zero commission mobile marketplace with easy registration process and seamless listing where sellers and buyers can chat to buy and sell," said Snapdeal co-founder and CEO Kunal Bahl. "It is an open marketplace showcasing various product collections and categories. We target one million shops online in the next one year. It is currently available on iOS and Android," he added. Bahl said the company witnessed 30,000 product listings from 4,500 shop-owners in the new platform in the last 30 days.

Source: IANS

BSE cracks down on 530 companies without a woman director

Stock exchange BSE has cracked the whip on 530 companies that have not appointed a woman director, asking them to pay up the fine for non-compliance, said an official. "We have sent notices to 530 listed companies out of 4,262 companies that are eligible for trading. The total number of companies that are listed in BSE are 5,712 and out of them 1,450 have been suspended," the official, who didn't want to be named, told IANS over phone from Mumbai. According to him, the BSE till date has issued advisory letters to 530 companies regarding levy of fines for non-appointment of women directors.

Source: IANS

Sensex provisionally closes more than 265 points up

Hopes of a rate cut and expectations of importing cheaper oil from Iran after it signed a nuclear deal with the world powers cheered the Indian equity markets on Wednesday, with the 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) provisionally closing more than 265 points up on Wednesday. The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also provisionally closed with healthy gains. It was up 72 points or 0.85 percent up at 8,526.10 points. The BSE Sensex, which opened at 28,022.14 points, provisionally closed at 28,198.01 points (3.30 p.m.), up 265.11 points or 0.95 percent from the previous day's close at 27,932.90 points. The Sensex touched a high of 28,218.37 points and a low of 27,986.48 points in the intra-day trade.

Source: IANS

Kerala institute offers training for masons, engineers

A Kerala institute set up at a cost of Rs.100 crore will provide skill development courses for masons, diploma holders and engineers, a minister said on Wednesday. The Indian Institute for Infrastructure and Construction will offer the courses to keep up with the growing demand of the infrastructure industry. Students will get a certification of the Britain-based City and Guilds - a global leader in skills development, Labour Minister Shibu Baby John told reporters. The campus is coming up on a nine-acre plot near Kollam and the institute building is spread across two lakh square feet. The institute will open in January next year. The institute will be owned by the state government but would be operated and managed by the Middle East-based Keralite business honcho P.N.C. Menon who heads the Sobha Group, the minister said.

Source: IANS

Branding Nano as cheap car was wrong: Tata

Branding Tata Motors small car Nano as a cheapest car was a mistake and was one of the reasons for the model not taking off as expected, Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, said here on Wednesday. Tata, who was here to participate in the 11th convocation of the Great Lakes Institute of Management, also took some questions from the students. Answering a question on the Nano car, Tata said the mistake was branding the model as the cheapest car instead of affordable car. He said people did not want to be associated with a cheap car.
Brand Gurus had earlier expressed similar views to media and said a car in India is a status symbol and people do not want their car to be known as a cheap car.

Source: IANS

Telecom minister to open Infocom meet Thursday

Communications and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will on Thursday inaugurate a two-day conference on business, technology and leadership, Infocom, here that will focus on the stated theme of "Connected World". Hosted by the ABP Group, the two-day event will also have special forums on leadership, strategy, digital India, as also on the small and medium enterprises, said its organisers, the ABP Group, adding that 600 delegates 50 Speakers were expected to attend. Commerce andd Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is also a key speaker. Others include Amitabh Ray of Ericsson Global, Purnendu Chatterjee of The Chatterjee Group, Sports Icon Anil Kumble, Mohit Pande of Google India and Sangita Singh of Wipro Healthcare.

Source: IANS

Sensex surges 127 points in early trade

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets, the 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex), on Wednesday was trading at 127.06 points or 0.45 percent up during the morning session. The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was also trading at 36.20 points or 0.43 percent up at 8,490.30 points. The Sensex of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 28,022.14 points, was trading at 28,059.96 points (at 9.26 a.m.) in the early session, up 127.06 points or 0.45 percent from the previous day's close at 27,932.90 points. The Sensex has touched a high of 28,071.90 points and a low of 27,986.48 points in the trade so far.

Source: IANS

Income tax return can now be verified electronically

In a move to facilitate taxpayers through e-enabled services, the finance ministry on Tuesday said the income tax return for assessment year 2015-16 can now be verified electronically. "A taxpayer may verify his return through internet banking or through the Aadhar-based authentication process," it said in a statement. "Persons using this facility will not be required to submit a signed paper copy of ITR-Verification form (ITR-V) to CPC Bengaluru," it added. For the convenience of small taxpayers having total income of Rs.500,000 or below without any claim of refund, the facility of generating the electronic verification code (EVC) has also been provided on the e-filing website of the department.

Source: IANS

FDI up 48 percent in seven months of 'Make in India'

Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country has seen a 48 percent growth in the seven-month period from the launch of 'Make in India' initiative in September till April 2015, an official statement said on Tuesday. "The growth in FDI has been significant after the launch of 'Make in India' initiatives in September 2014, with 48 percent increase in FDI equity inflows during October 2014 to April 2015 over the corresponding period last year," the commerce ministry statement said. In 2014-15, the country witnessed unprecedented growth of 717 percent, to $40.92 billion of investment by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), it said. "The FDI inflow under the approval route saw a growth of 87 percent during 2014-15 with inflow of $2.22 billion despite more sectors having been liberalized during this period and with more than 90 percent of FDI being on automatic route," the statement added.

Source: IANS

India clears defence purchases worth over Rs.29,000 crore

India on Tuesday cleared defence purchases worth over Rs.290 billion ($4.5 billion) at a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC). Among the proposals cleared by the DAC at a meeting chaired by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was the purchase for Rs.4,380 crore of an additional four Boeing P8I maritime surveillance aircraft. Also approved was a Rs.16,900 crore proposal for replacing the 1960s vintage L70 and ZU 23 anti-aircraft guns. Official sources said 428 guns will be acquired under the 'buy and make in India' clause of the Defence Procurement Proceddure (DPP).

Source: IANS

Odisha's revenue collection up 33 percent

Odisha Finance Minister Pradeep Amat on Tuesday said that the state's total revenue collection has increased by 33 percent in the first quarter of this fiscal against the corresponding period last year. While the government has collected Rs.6,257.76 crore in the first quarter (April-June) of this financial year, it had collected Rs.4,697.25 crore in the first quarter of 2014-15. This was revealed at a meeting held by the finance minister on Tuesday on the revenue collection during the first quarter. The total revenue collection during 2014-15 was around Rs.27,820 crore. The Odisha government's own tax revenue has recorded a 45 percent increase in the first quarter of this fiscal against the corresponding period last year, said a finance department release.

Source: IANS

'Service Charge' in restaurant bills doesn't come to us: Government

Service charges levied on customers by some restaurants do not end up in the government exchequer and are retained by the outlets, the finance ministry clarified on Tuesday. "Some restaurants/hotels/eateries besides charging for the food and beverages are also charging 'service charges' in their bills. The proceeds of the 'service charges' are retained by the restaurants/hotels/eateries," an official statement here said with reference to "misapprehensions" that these are being collected on behalf of the government as tax. The ministry also clarified that the effective service tax rate on serving food or beverage by a restaurant having air-conditioning or central heating is 5.6 percent of the total amount charged. With the increase in the service tax rate to 14 percent from June 1, the tax rate is effectively 5.6 percent of the total amount charged.

Source: IANS

With wholesale prices in negative, India Inc urges RBI rate cut

India Inc on Tuesday called in unison for a rate cut next month by the Reserve Bank of India as official data showed that the annual inflation rate based on wholesale prices continued in the negative territory in June, falling further to (-)2.4 percent from (-)2.36 percent in May. "The near static price line and benign inflation outlook should propel the RBI to continue with its rate easing cycle in its forthcoming monetary policy to support investment and consumption demand especially as industrial production has recorded a muted performance and the consumer goods sector has moved into the negative terrain in May," Confederation of Indian Industry director general Chandrajit Banerjee said in a statement in New Delhi.

Source: IANS

Jul 14, 2015

Sensex down 44 points in afternoon session (Lead)

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets, the 30-scrip BSE Sensitive Index (Sensex), was on Tuesday trading 44.03 points or 0.16 percent down during the afternoon session. The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was also trading at 13.65 points or 0.16 percent down at 8,446 points. The Sensex of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 27,986.92 points, was trading at 27,917.16 points (at 1.12 p.m.) in the afternoon session, down 44.03 points or 0.16 percent from the previous day's close at 27,961.19 points. The Sensex has touched a high of 27,995.04 points and a low of 27,853.96 points in the trade so far.

Source: IANS

India's wholesale inflation falls further to (-)2.4 percent

India's annual rate of inflation based on wholesale prices continued in the negative territory in June, falling further to (-)2.4 percent from (-)2.36 percent for the month before, official data showed on Tuesday. The annual rate of inflation, as per the official wholesale price index, stood at 5.66 percent in the corresponding month of the previous year, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The inflation rate rose, despite marginal increases in the indices for all the three major sub-indices between May and June. The increases were 1.4 percent for primary articles, 0.6 percent for fuels and 0.1 percent for manufactured products.

Source: IANS

Sensex sheds 42 points in early trade

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets, the 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex), on Tuesday was trading at 42.12 points or 0.15 percent down during the morning session. The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was also trading at 15.55 points or 0.18 percent down at 8,444.10 points. The Sensex of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 27,986.92 points, was trading at 27,919.07 points (at 9.19 a.m.) in the early session, down 42.12 points or 0.15 percent from the previous day's close at 27,961.19 points. The Sensex has touched a high of 27,995.04 points and a low of 27,915.25 points in the trade so far.

Source: IANS

More social security schemes to benefit all: Jaitley

The government would formulate more variants of its social security schemes to benefit maximum number of people, union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Monday. "We will bring out more variants of social security schemes in the near future to ensure maximum number of people benefit from them," Jaitley said at his ministry's second parliamentary consultative committee meeting in New Delhi. Noting that only 11 percent of the population had pension schemes while only 20 percent were insured, Jaitley said the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY) would play in key role in achieving universal social security goals across the country.

Source: IANS

Cargo handling in Indian ports rises by 5.4 percent: ICRA

Credit rating and investment information company ICRA on Monday said during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015, Indian ports have registered a modest increase in handling cargo by 5.4 percent at 1,043 million tonnes (MT). During 2014-15, 976 MT of cargo was handled by the ports. "The growth was pegged down by a relatively weaker cargo performance at the major ports which registered a modest growth of 4.7 percent in cargo volumes to 581 MT in fiscal year 2014-15," the rating agency said in a statement. It further said non-major ports have likely pushed up the overall growth rate by recording a 10 percent growth to 462 MT during 2014-15.

Source: IANS

CNG stations to triple in NCR: Petroleum minister

The government plans to triple the current CNG stations in the national capital region (NCR) for boosting use of the clean fuel, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said here on Monday. "We have a scheme to triple the number of CNG stations in the national capital region as part of a scheme for a Green Energy Corridor being drawn up for implementation in the next two years," Pradhan told reporters in new Delhi on the sidelines of a petroleum ministry organised seminar on "Bio Fuel Programme in India-The Way Forward". "The green corridors being planned would go along in all fourdirections from Delhi, to Jaipur, to Chandigarh, to Haridwar and to Agra. There will be many more CNG stations en route," he said.

Source: IANS

Modi to launch Skill India Campaign on July 15

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the Skill India Campaign on the occasion of World Youth Skills Day on July 15, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy said on Monday. The prime minister will formally launch the National Skill Development Mission, unveil the new National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015 and roll out on all-India flagship scheme, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Rudy said at an event here, according to an official statement. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has consented to be the chief guest for the event to be held at Vigyan Bhawan," it said.

Source: IANS

Honda launches new Jazz in Karnataka

Honda Cars India Limited (HCIL) launched its third generation Honda Jazz's petrol and diesel variants in Karnataka on Monday. "We strongly believe that the Jazz will meet both the rational as well as the aspirational needs of the customers. The all new Jazz will be a key pillar of business and would be instrumental in driving the growth for Honda cars in India," said HCIL senior vice president, marketing and sales, Janaeswar Sen. The company is offering as many as 12 variants in both diesel and petrol options with the prices ranging from Rs.5,40,900 to Rs.7,98,500 (petrol) and Rs.6,62,900 to Rs.8,75,000 (diesel). The new Jazz was developed in Honda's R&D centre located in Japan by incorporating inputs received from extensive global market surveys. HCIL currently has a monthly production capacity of 20,000 cars from its two plants in Bhiwadi (Rajasthan) and Greater Noida (UP) and it is seeking to ramp it up.

Source: IANS

Rs.25,085 crore net outflow for mutual funds in June

Indian mutual funds saw a net outflow of Rs.25,085 crore in June, as per data published by Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). According to AMFI, investors took out a net Rs.25,085 crore last month and bulk of it was from liquid/money market schemes. However the net inflow for the current year till date stands at Rs.85,727 crore up from Rs.86,369 crore logged during previous year's corresponding period. Equity and gold exchange traded funds attracted net inflows of Rs.12,273 crore. The income and balanced fund schemes logged net inflow of Rs.10,280 crore. The total assets under management of the mutual funds at the end of June 2015 stands at Rs.11, 73,294 crore, states AMFI.

Source: IANS

Jul 13, 2015

Greece deal buoys investors, Sensex gains 300 points

A barometer index of the Indian equity markets provisionally closed 300 points up on Monday, as investors' sentiments were buoyed on account of Greece reaching an agreement for a new bailout package. The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also provisionally closed in the green, gaining 99.10 points or 1.19 percent at 8,459.65 points. The Sensex of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 27,739.32 points, provisionally closed at 27,961.19 points (at 3.35 p.m.), up 299.79 points or 1.08 percent from the previous day's close at 27,661.40 points. The Sensex touched a high of 28,005.17 points and a low of 27,635.06 points in the intra-day trade.

Source: IANS

June retail inflation rises to 5.40 percent

India's retail inflation inched up to 5.40 percent in June from 5.01 percent in May, official data showed on Monday.

Source: IANS

Modi to launch Skill India Campaign on July 15

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the Skill India Campaign on the occasion of World Youth Skills Day on July 15, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy said on Monday. The prime minister will formally launch the National Skill Development Mission, unveil the new National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015 and roll out on all-India flagship scheme, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Rudy said at an event here, according to an official statement. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has consented to be the chief guest for the event to be held at Vigyan Bhawan," it said.

Source: IANS

Mobikwik joins hands with Uber for card payments

Mobile payments network company Mobikwik has entered into a partnership with Uber India, which has re-introduced card payments for Indian users, the company said in a statement here on Monday. This tie-up will enable Uber to use MobiKwik for powering their new credit and debit card payments from customers. "Our solution takes the complexity out of mobile payments, making them easy and seamless," Bipin Preet Singh, founder and chief executive officer, MobiKwik, said. The users can just tap on the credit card option, add their credit or debit card details and make a fully secure two-factor authenticated (2FA) payment powered by MobiKwik, the company claimed. The new MobiKwik card payment service has been live for all Android users for more than a week whilst iOS users will get the feature via an update in the coming weeks, the statement said.

Source: IANS

World Bank, FICCI join hands for innovation solutions

In order to leverage Indian creativity, expertise, and resources to identify and scale innovative solutions, the FICCI and the World Bank on Monday announced their partnership to advance the Millennium Alliance (MA) initiative. "The MA is an inclusive platform to leverage Indian creativity, expertise, and resources to identify and scale innovative solutions being developed and tested in India to address development challenges that will benefit base of the pyramid populations across India and the world," an official statement said. The agreement was signed by FICCI secretary general A. Didar Singh and World Bank country director (India) Onno Ruhl to formalize a shared commitment to support sustainable and scalable innovative solutions in the identified priority areas of sanitation, education, healthcare, clean energy and agriculture.

Source: IANS

Sensex surges 283 points in afternoon trade

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets, the 30-scrip BSE Sensitive Index (Sensex), was on Monday trading 282.62 points or 1.02 percent up during the afternoon session after Eurozone leaders reached a "unanimous" agreement for a third bailout deal for Greece. The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was also trading 81.70 points or 0.98 percent up at 8,442.25 points. The Sensex of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 27,739.32 points, was trading at 27,944.02 points (at 1.23 p.m.) in the afternoon session, up 282.62 points or 1.02 percent from the previous day's close at 27,661.40 points.

Source: IANS

Sensex gains 86 points in early session

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets, the 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex), on Monday was trading 86.25 points or 0.31 percent up during the morning session. The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was also trading 32 points or 0.38 percent up at 8,360.55 points. The Sensex of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 27,739.32 points, was trading at 27,747.65 points (at 9.16 a.m.) in the early session, up 86.25 points or 0.31 percent from the previous day's close at 27,661.40 points. The Sensex touched a high of 27,791.21 points and a low of 27,739.32 points in the trade so far.

Source: IANS

Agriculture, rural infrastructure need more investment: Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday called for higher investment in rural infrastructure and agriculture, saying the sector was plagued by a series of handicaps like inadequate irrigation, high indebtedness and climate change impact. "With productivity levels reasonably low and 85 percent farmers being small and marginal, the agriculture sector is afflicted by higher input costs, low level of irrigation, high indebtedness, absence of an effective insurance mechanism and adverse impacts of climate change," Jaitley said at a Nabard symposium here on "Mitigating Agrarian Distress and Enhancing Farm Income". Observing that India has been unable to ensure even a consistent four percent growth in agriculture, the finance minister said that despite the challenges, Indian farmers have been able to attain self-sufficiency in foodgrains.

Source: IANS

Modi visit: India, Kyrgyzstan boost defence cooperation

India and Kyrgyzstan on Sunday inked four agreements, including in defence cooperation and between their election commissions, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with President Almazbek Atambayev. Visiting Bishkek, the penultimate stop of his tour of Central Asian countries, Modi in his media statement said his visit to all five countries in the region "demonstrates the importance that we attach to a new level of relationship with Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is a key part of that vision". Modi said resource-rich Central Asia has an important place in India's future and both sides seek a peaceful and secure neighbourhood and have a shared interest in combating extremism and terrorism.

Source: IANS

India's mobile phone subscriber base to cross 100 crore

India, one of the world's biggest wireless markets by number of users, will see 100 crore (One billion) mobile phone subscribers by the end of this year, Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in Agartala on Sunday. "At present, India, with a population of 125 crore, has 98 crore mobile phone subscribers and 30 crore internet connections," he told reporters. "The number of mobile phone users would go to 100 crore within this year, and we would increase the internet connections to 50 crore in two years."

Source: IANS

Better monsoon this year will help check inflation: Jaitley

With rains this year having advanced well into the country, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said a better monsoon would help check food inflation. "It appears that the rain gods may be kinder this year to us than they were last year," he said at the Nabard foundation day celebrations in Mumbai. Expressing the hope that the monsoon would be as good as it was last month, Jaitley said the department of agriculture expects better rainfall in most parts of India for higher yields of oilseeds and pulses, whose prices are currently a concern in terms of inflation. "I hope their estimates turn out to be true," he said. The finance minister also referred to Saturday's official data on overall growth in indirect tax revenue collections during the first quarter and said rising tax revenues and improving macroeconomic fundamentals will take the economy to an accelerated growth trajectory.

Source: IANS

Banking services in rural areas through post offices: Centre

The central government is committed to provide banking services in rural areas through modern post offices where facilities like ATM, pension account and core banking will be made available, union Communication and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in Agartala on Sunday. He said by next month post offices across the country would likely start payment transactions like banks. "With the approval of Reserve Bank of India, the payment transactions would be initiated by the post offices from August," he said after inaugurating the core banking services (CBS) in the Agartala head post offices. Prasad said the government was committed to provide banking services through modern post offices in rural areas.

India and Turkmenistan on Saturday identified the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline project as a key pillar of energy cooperation between the two countries. A joint statement issued after a meeting between visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and delegation-level talks between the two sides said that the leaders of the two sides “recognised that implementation of the TAPI project would have a transformational impact on trade between the two countries and decided to take measures for early implementation of this important regional project”. “They welcomed establishment of ‘TAPI Ltd’ as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in November 2014 in Ashgabat and acknowledged that it was a milestone in implementation of this strategic project,” the statement said.

Source: IANS

Lucknow to get metro rail before 2017 polls: Akhilesh

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday announced that the Lucknow Metro will begin running before the 2017 state assembly elections. Addressing reporters after the launch of the uniform for the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) staffers, the chief minister said that political opponents who were accusing his government of selling a pipe dream have now been silenced after seeing the fast pace of work. Attributing the speed of the work on the metro rail project to the team spirit of officials and agencies involved, the chief minister said that he was very hopeful that the Lucknow Metro would begin plying in much lesser time than the Jaipur Metro.

Source: IANS

Bus manufacturing plant commissioned in Telangana

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday inaugurated a Rs.300 crore bus manufacturing plant near in Hyderabad. Set up by Deccan Auto Limited, it is the first bus plant to come up in the newly created state. Located at Kodakachani village in Medak district, about 40 km from Hyderabad, the plant has the capacity to produce 3,000 buses annually in the initial phase. Located in a 75-acre area, the first module has been built on 18 acres with a covered area of 200,000 square feet. The company proposes to double the capacity to 6,000 units a year after completion of the first phase. M.S.R.V. Prasad, chairman of Deccan Auto, said the facility would serve both domestic and export markets in Asia and Africa, where the company has a big presence in the cement and steel industry.

Source: IANS

Connectivity key aspect of India-Turkmenistan ties: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that connectivity is a key aspect of the relationship between India and the Central Asian republic of Turkmenistan. “Connectivity is an area of priority for both countries,” Modi said after holding talks with Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. “If we use the Iran route Ashgabat is the first capital we would reach in Central Asia,” he said. The prime minister expressed gratitude to Turkmenistan for its support to India joining the Ashgabat agreement on trade and transit and proposed that the Central Asian nation become a member of the International North South Transport Corridor. “Together with Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran rail link, and India's proposed investment in Chahbahar Port (in Iran), these initiatives will strengthen connectivity between our two countries,” he said.

Source: IANS

DSCI focuses on cyber security for digital transformation

Security architects, senior security managers and decision makers brainstormed on a number of issues, including technology and cyber security, during the seventh edition of Data Security Council of India (DSCI) best practices meet in Bengaluru. Participants spoke on policy matters, proposed industry steps, market response, globally evolved practices, technology innovation, industry standards, architectural designs and others. "In the current landscape, the industry is witnessing wide-scale adoption of new technology solutions that are leading to building complex digital business models around technological breakthroughs," said Nandkumar Saravade, CEO, DSCI on Friday, at the two day meet held on July 9 and 10.

Source: IANS

Wipro's digital arm to buy Danish design firm

Global software major Wipro's digital business unit plans to acquire Danish firm Designit in the current quarter for an estimated $94 million (Rs.596 crore) to enhance its digital transformation capabilities. "Our clients want us to help them transform their businesses and move at the speed of digital. Solving complex challenges starts with design and fuses innovative solutions," the IT firm said in a statement here on Friday. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Designit is an international design firm co-founded in 1991 by Anders Geert Jensen and Mikal Haastrup. As one of the world's largest, privately-held design firms, the Aarhus-based firm delivers product-services in diverse verticals such as healthcare, telecom, banking, automotive and retail.

Source: IANS

Sitharaman meets stakeholders on FDI in e-commerce

With retail store operators going to court seeking parity between online and offline retailers, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met industry representatives from both e-commerce and retail companies on Friday to discuss opening up the e-commerce sector to foreign direct investment (FDI). A source in the department of industrial policy and promotions told IANS here that DIPP Secretary Amitabh Kant told company representatives at the meeting that the sensitive issue of opening the retail sector to foriegn investment required detailed consultations with all stakeholders and that the union commerce minister is slated to meet with ministers concerned from the various states next Wednesday.

Source: IANS

India's factory output growth slows in May

A retarded growth in manufacturing output slowed India's overall industrial production expansion to 2.7 percent for May -- against 4.1 percent in April, official data showed on Friday. As per the quick estimates of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) released by the Central Statistical Office (CSO), the growth in manufacturing output fell from 5.1 percent in April and 5.9 percent in May 2014 to 2.2 percent in the month under review. The manufacturing sector, which has the maximum weightage in the IIP, grew by 3.2 percent between April and May. The mining and electricity output expanded by 2.8 percent and 6 percent respectively.

Source: IANS

Digital India Week received huge response: Prasad

Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday said that the Digital India Week received huge response from all over the country and a host of initiatives were taken by various state governments keeping aside political ideology. "Digital India initiative is party, politics and ideology-neutral. In the week-long initiative, about 170 events were organised at the state headquarters," the minister told reporters in New Delhi. Prasad said more than 250 services were launched in areas of health information, utility services, smart public distribution system (PDS) card, land record services, mobile app for civic amenities, services for farmers, social welfare and pension services, electoral services, online court services, police services, and employment exchange services in this one week.

Source: IANS

BRICS bank will look to expand membership: Kamath

Clarifying that its mandate allows assistance only to member countries, the New Development Bank's (NDB) first president K.V. Kamath on Friday said the bank will look at expanding its membership in the coming months. "We will primarily lend to member countries. In due course, we will look at opening membership, in the next few months," Kamath, who was here for the just concluded BRICS summit attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the presidents of Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa, told reporters. "We will talk to the board of governors to expand in due course," he said.

Source: IANS

Country's first community skill park to open in Kerala

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will inaugurate Kaushal Kendra, a state-of-the-art skill development centre, here on Saturday, a Kerala minister said on Friday. Located around 70 km from Thiruvananthapuram, it has even attracted the attention of the central government which has shown interest in replicating the centre throughout the country. Built at a cost of Rs.1.5 crore, the project was implemented through the state's nodal skill development agency - Kerala Academy for Skills Excellence (KASE). "This is the first such centre in the country instituted specifically to meet the shortcomings of our educated youths and boost their employability at very nominal costs," Kerala Labour Minister Shibu Baby John told the media on Friday.

Source: IANS

SC to hear BSES Rajdhani's plea against Aptel verdict

The Supreme Court on Friday decided to hear a plea by power discom BSES Rajdhani Power challenging the "validity, legality and correctness" of Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (Aptel) judgment on regulator DERC's 2012 tariff order. A bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice N.V. Ramana, while admitting the plea by BSES Rajdhani, wondered if the apex court was to decide everything including the tariff of power distribution companies saying that this was the job of expert bodies. The March 2 Aptel order came on the plea by BSES Rajdhani contesting the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission's July 13, 2012 order on the discom's annual revenue requirement for 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 and determining retail supply tariff for fiscal 2012-13.

Source: IANS

Jul 10, 2015

India's May industrial growth slows to 2.7 percent

India's factory output growth slowed in May to 2.7 percent from 4.1 percent in the month before, official data showed on Friday. According to the data on Index of Industrial Production (IIP) furnished by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the growth during April-May stood at 3 percent.

Source: IANS

RIL closes shale gas assets sale deal

Oil refiner-to-retail major Reliance Industries on Friday announced the closing of the recently announced sale of its shale gas assets in EFS Midstream to an affiliate of Enterprise Products Partners. According to the company, its subsidiary Reliance Holding USA announced the closing of the recently announced sale. In a joint transaction announced on May 31, Reliance and Pioneer Natural Resources Company agreed to sell their respective ownership interests (49.9 percent and 50.1 percent) in EFS to an affiliate of Enterprise Product Partners for an aggregate consideration of $2,150 million.

Source: IANS

Sensex closes with 87-point gain

After two previous sessions of heavy sell-offs, a barometer index of Indian equities provisionally closed in the green with gains of over 87 points on Friday. The Indian equity markets reacted positively to the upcoming key macro-economic data, ongoing first-quarter results season, efforts to stabilise the Chinese markets and were also hopeful that a solution will be found to the Greek debt crisis. The benchmark index of the Indian equity markets, the 30-scrip BSE Sensitive Index (Sensex), provisionally closed 87.74 points or 0.32 percent up. The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), too, closed in the green -- higher by 32 points or 0.38 percent at 8,360.55 points. The Sensex of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 27,705.36 points, provisionally closed at 27,661.40 points (at 3.35 p.m.), up 87.74 points or 0.32 percent from the previous day's close at 27,573.66 points.

Source: IANS

India to help build infrastructure in Central Asia: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India will help develop infrastructure in the Central Asian region. "Our ties with Central Asia are very old," Modi said while addressing the 15th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Ufa. India will be pleased to contribute to the development of infrastructure in the region," he said. The prime minister noted that India has been "actively participating in SCO activities that are open to observers". "Our membership of SCO is a natural extension of these relationships and mirrors the region’s place in India’s future,” he said. SCO leaders are set to pass a resolution on starting the procedures to grant India and Pakistan full membership of the organisation.

Source: IANS

SCO summit opens, set to rope in India, Pakistan

The 15th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit opened on Friday in this Russian city, with the leaders expected to start an enlargement process for India and Pakistan. The meeting, hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin and attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping and other SCO leaders, will focus on planning the organisation's future development, Xinhua reported. Among the documents expected to be released are an SCO development blueprint, a border defence cooperation agreement and a declaration on the 70th anniversary of the victory in World War II. In one of the biggest eyecatchers in the Ufa summit, SCO leaders are set to pass a resolution on starting the procedures of granting India and Pakistan full membership of the organisation.

Source: IANS

UP seeks quick release of Rs.7,543 crore

The Uttar Pradesh government has sought immediate release of Rs.7,543.14 crore from the National Calamity Contingency Fund to disburse compensation to farmers who suffered crop loss in unseasonal rains earlier this year, an official said on Friday. A large number of farmers suffered large-scale crop loss and damage in the unseasonal rainfall and hailstorm in February, March and April. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav informed him that the state has already disbursed Rs.3,446.70 crore as relief to over 84 lakh farmers who suffered loss of crops due to the hailstorm and excessive rains in February, March and April.

Source: IANS

Infosys to offer financial services to US banks

Global software major Infosys Ltd will offer its flagship Finacle product to service US banks' Verizon cloud platforms. "We will offer solutions to US banks and financial institutions through the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, which is serving 547 million customers worldwide," the city-based bellwether said in a statement on Friday. The US-based Verizon Communications operates the country's wireless network with 109 million retail connections nationwide. Its enterprise solutions arm helps clients to improve performance and manage risk using multiple platforms over its secure mobility, cloud computing, and networking.

Source: IANS

Bank loan, deposit portfolios show increase

The loan and deposit portfolios of scheduled commercial banks as on June 26, 2015 showed an uptrend, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said. According to RBI, scheduled commercial banks saw a growth in their credit portfolio (loans, cash credits and overdrafts) to Rs.66,593.36 billion as on June 26, 2015 up from Rs.60,949.44 billion as on June 27, 2014. Similarly, deposits of the banks stood at Rs.87,985.35 billion as on June 26, 2015, up from Rs.78,993.37 billion as on June 27, 2014. The food credit outstanding of scheduled commercial banks as on June 26 this year was Rs.1,114.35 billion against Rs.1,144.1 billion as on June 27, 2014.

Source: IANS

Sensex gains 126 points in early trade

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets, the 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex), on Friday was trading at 126.37 points or 0.46 percent up during the morning session. The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was also trading at 35.85 points or 0.43 percent up at 8,364.40 points. The Sensex of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 27,705.36 points, was trading at 27,700.03 points (at 9.24 a.m.) in the early session, up 126.37 points or 0.46 percent from the previous day's close at 27,573.66 points.

Source: IANS

India to host BRICS next year, have trade fair, soccer tourney

India will chair next year's BRICS summit that will see the hosting of the first BRICS trade fair, a film festival and an under-17 football tournament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed 10 steps to boost cooperation among the bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The "Dus Kadam", or 10 steps for boosting cooperation include a BRICS trade fair, a railway research centre, cooperation among supreme audit institutions, a digital initiative, an agricultural research centre, a forum of state/local governments among the BRICS nations, cooperation among cities in the field of urbanization, a sports council and an annual sports meet, first major project of New Development Bank to be in the field of clean energy and a film festival.

Source: IANS

TCS posts robust net growth in first quarter

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Thursday set the tone for the Indian IT industry with robust net and volume growth in the first quarter (April-June) of this fiscal (2015-16). The global software major reported net profit of Rs.5,709 crore in the quarter under review (Q1), a whopping 48 percent sequential growth from the last quarter (January-March) at Rs.3,858 crore and 12.9 percent year-on-year (YoY) from Rs.5,058 crore in the like period a year ago. The city-based outsourcing firm said revenue, however, grew 6 percent sequentially to Rs.25,668 crore from Rs.24,220 crore in previous quarter and 16 percent YoY from Rs.22,111 crore in the same period a year ago. Under the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS), net income for the quarter is up 45 percent sequentially to $898 million from $621 million in the last quarter and 6.2 percent YoY from $845 million in the same period a year ago.

Source: IANS

Ratan Tata-backed BlueStone.com raises Rs.100 crore

Ratan Tata-backed online jewellery portal BlueStone.com said on Thursday that it has raised third round venture capital funding worth Rs.100 crore. Accel Partners, IVY Capital and Dragoneer led the funding advised by Avendus Capital with participation from Kalaari Capital and Saama Capital as well, BlueStone.com said in a statement. "We decided to invest in the BlueStone team because we believe in the team due to their strong pedigree of IIT and IIMs," said Vikram Gupta, managing partner at IvyCap Ventures. BlueStone.com's annual revenue is in the range of Rs.80-100 crore while the company grew by 150 percent year-on-year, the statement said.

Source: IANS

Ghana invites investment from Indian power companies

Ghana has invited Indian power companies to invest in setting up thermal and renewable power projects towards becoming power surplus in the next five years. "A high-powered delegation led by Kwame Ampofo, chairman, Energy Commission of Ghana met the power industry leaders here today (Thursday) at the global launch of Powerelec Ghana 2016, an Indo-Ghanian platform created by Fairact Exhibitions and Events, Orange, Ghana and Verifair, Dubai, which will be hosted at Accra, Ghana in May 2016," said a release by the platform's organisers. "Ghana has announced an ambitious programme of adding new power generation capacity of 3,665 MW over the next five years, thereby more than doubling the amount of existing capacity," the statement said.

Source: IANS

Delhi to get coal block by September-October: Satyendra Jain

Delhi Power Minister Satyendra Jain on Thursday said that the central government would provide the city government a coal block by September-October. "We will get our coal block by September-October this year either in Jharkhand or Odisha," he said at an event organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India. Emphasising on the need to reduce electricity tariff in Delhi, the minister said his ministry has sought the support of Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) in this regard. Jain said there was no need to set up more power plants but to utilise full capacity of the existing ones. He said power plants in India have a capacity of 2,70,000 MW but were producing only a half of their capacity.

Source: IANS

Loan requests from BRICS to Kamath

Clarifying that all BRICS Bank member-nations are on par, New Development Bank's first president K.V. Kamath on Thursday said the loan requests from member-nations would be examined in the order they were received. The bank should not only meet the group's aspirations at present, but also prepare for a larger BRICS once new members joined, he added. BRICS is an acronym for an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. "We will look at the proposals from each country in the order in which they are coming," Kamath told TASS news agency.

Source: IANS

Need to manufacture road construction equipment in India: Gadkari

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday pointed to the need to manufacture road construction equipment in India to reduce infrastructure erection cost. "Equipment should be manufactured in India itself so that the cost of construction can be reduced, as well as, the vision of "Make in India" can also be fulfilled. Joint ventures can also be taken up with the foreign partners wherever feasible," Gadkari, who also holds the Shipping Ministry portfolio said. The minister was speaking at the inauguration of the two-day "National Conference on Highway Equipment" being held in New Delhi.

Source: IANS

Jul 09, 2015

BRICS Contingency Reserve Arrangement coming soon: Modi

Assuring BRICS leaders that the Contingency Reserve Arrangement would become a reality soon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the BRICS Economic Cooperation Strategy to be adopted by the summit here later on Thursday will be a major milestone for the five-nation grouping. "The BRICS Economic Cooperation Strategy to be adopted today (Thursday) will be an important milestone in the development of BRICS," Modi said, addressing the BRICS Business Council meeting, with the presidents of Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa also in attendance. "The Contingency Reserve Arrangement will soon become a reality, which will help in stabilising the BRICS economies," the prime minister said. The BRICS Economic Cooperation Strategy is aimed at creating a framework for easier trade between the BRICS developing markets.

Source: IANS

Panasonic's wielding arm holds workshop with CII

With an eye on the Make in India initiative, Panasonic Welding Systems, in association with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), organised a technical seminar and workshop on Thursday. The objective of the programme was to promote high precision arc welding technology in India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Make in India initiative. Welding technology, which remains the most critical for industrial sectors, is required to assure long-term reliability across applications such as fabrication of buildings, bridges, process plant equipment and manufacturing of automobiles, ships and railways.

Source: IANS

Sensex provisionally closes 114 points down

Negative global cues eminating from China and Greece countered the positive sentiments surrounding the upcoming first quarter results and led a barometer of the Indian equities to provisionally close 114 points down on Thursday. The benchmark index of the Indian equity markets, the 30-scrip Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensitive Index (Sensex), provisionally closed 114.06 points or 0.41 percent DOWN during the day's trade. The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed flat. It was down 34.50 points or 0.41 percent at 8,328.55 points. The Sensex of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 27,681.49 points, provisionally closed the day's trade at 27,573.66 points (at 3.35 p.m.), down 114.06 points or 0.41 percent from the previous day's close at 27,687.72 points.

Source: IANS

First loans from BRICS bank expected in April 2016: Kamath

The BRICS New Development Bank expects to start providing its first loans by April 2016, according to India's K.V. Kamath, the first president of the bank. "What we want to do is by April next year we want to make our first loans, so we will have to build teams to identify projects, build simultaneously internal processes and procedures, hire people and then get to the funding process," Kamath told TASS news agency. The ratification process which ended on July 7 in Moscow has allowed the bank to move forward and start working, according to Kamath. "As of now, technically I have a white sheet of paper with only the names of my four vice-presidents. Everybody else has to be hired," Kamath said. For the first three months, the bank will seek help from member-countries' local development banks, according to Kamath.

Source: IANS

Modi proposes annual BRICS trade fair

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday proposed the BRICS nations host an annual trade fair, adding ed that India would be happy to host the first such event of the five-nation bloc. "I will propose an annual BRICS trade fair. India will be happy to host the first BRICS trade fair," Modi said in his remarks at the BRICS Business Council meeting at the seventh BRICS Summit. Modi said that economic cooperation among the five countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa is very important and would give a boost to manufacturing. Modi spoke in Hindi and stressed the five nations should create synergies seeing each other's advantages. He said cooperation would also give a boost to skill development.

Source: IANS

Sensex sheds 24 points in early trade

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets, the 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex), on Thursday was trading 23.89 points or 0.09 percent down during the morning session. The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was also trading 9.65 points or 0.12 percent down at 8,353.40 points. The Sensex of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 27,681.49 points, was trading at 27,663.83 points (at 9.28 a.m.) in the early session, down 23.89 points or 0.09 percent from the previous day's close at 27,687.72 points. The Sensex touched a high of 27,798.13 points and a low of 27,662.25 points in the trade so far.

Source: IANS

India invites Canadian firms to invest in energy infrastructure

India has invited Canadian financial institutions to invest in its energy infrastructure, an official statement said on Wednesday. The petroleum ministry statement here said Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met Canadian officials and businessmen, during his visit to the country from July 4-6 to participate in the second India Canada Energy Dialogue, and "offered to jointly underwrite large-scale energy projects such as LNG (liquefied natural gas), refinery and petrochemical plants". He also "highlighted the availability of world standard cost-effective and quality engineering, procurement and construction companies in India with highly talented manpower who can contribute to the Canadian hydrocarbon sector", it added.

Source: IANS

BRICS bank to consider new memberships within six months

The BRICS New Development Bank will consider membership of new countries within six months, with the most probable new candidates being African states, its first president, India's K.V. Kamath, said on Wednesday. "Currently we only have five partnering states and we’ll be working with those states. Probably within the next six months we will decide to attract other countries. The managing council will be deciding," he said, adding that the leadership of the bank has not considered attracting new members yet. "I’m sure the interest will be huge," TASS news agency quoted Kamath as saying. Africa will be one of priority geographic zones for searching new members, he added.

Source: IANS

IndusInd Bank opens currency chest in Kolkata

Aiming to expand its current network in the east, IndusInd Bank on Wednesday unveiled its currency chest in Kolkata - its fourth such chest in the country. "This would enable the bank branches to handle larger volumes of cash," said the bank's head of transaction banking, Ramesh Ganesan said. The bank said this will help it in executing functions like acceptance of cash from branches, ATM replenishments, arrangement of fresh note remittances and sending soiled notes to Reserve Bank of India, Kolkata. According to the bank, the chest in Kolkata will enable customers to exchange their notes into those of higher or lower denominations or to obtain fresh notes by replacing soiled ones which may be unfit for re-use.

Source: IANS

Zen Mobile launches Sonic 1 exclusively on eBay India

Zen Mobiles on Wednesday launched a new smartphone named Sonic 1 at a price of Rs.5,999 exclusively on eBay India. The new device will offer 2GB RAM, 16GB of internal storage expandable up to 32GB expandable memory and runs on a 1,850 mAH battery. The phone, which runs Lollipop 5.0.2, will come with a 5-inch display and a 5-megapixel rear with flash camera along with a 2-megapizel fromt shooter. The phone will be powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor. Commenting on the launch, Pankaj Ukey, director of categories at eBay India, said: "With the exponential growth of m-commerce in India, there is an increase in demand for affordable phones and Sonic 1, packed with new-age technology and unique features, is a complete value for money."

Source: IANS

Jul 08, 2015

Nissan aims at 5 percent market share in 3-4 years

The Indian division of Japanese carmaker Nissan on Wednesday said it aims at increasing its overall market share in India to nearly five percent over a period of three-four years. The company mainly focuses on exports out of its plant in Chennai. "Our plan is to equally focus on the Indian market as well as boost our exports. In the coming three-four years, we hope to increase our market share in India from less than two percent to nearly five percent," Arun Malhotra, managing director of Nissan Motor India Pvt told media persons Kolkata. During the previous fiscal year, the company had exported over a lakh cars primarily to the Gulf region, West Europe and Latin America while domestic unit sales stood at 49,000 units.

Source: IANS

Orange Business Services join hands Tata Communications

Global IT and telecommunications services provider Orange Business Services has entered into an agreement with Tata Communications to expand its network footprint in India, it was announced on Wednesday. "The Network-to-Network Interconnect (NNI) agreement is part of a strategic partnership between the two companies and will increase Orange domestic coverage 10-fold to over 120 cities to meet customer demand," a statement New Delhi said. The NNI will enable Orange to utilize Tata Communications' 120 points of presence (PoPs), extending Orange Business Services' reach to tier-II and tier-III cities such as Pune, Bhopal and Ernakulam.

Source: IANS

Sensex provisionally closes 497 points down

The continuous slide in the Chinese stock markets and the stalemate in the Greece debt talks dampened investor sentiments, leading to a barometer index of the Indian equity markets to provisionally close 497 points down on Wednesday. The benchmark 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) provisionally closed 497.41 points or 1.77 percent down during Wednesday's trade session. The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also provisionally closed deep in the red. It plunged 157 points or 1.84 percent at 8,353.85 points.

Source: IANS

Russian investment fund signs MoU with BRICS member-states

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with its partners in the BRICS member-states to work with sovereign funds, with the Brics bank and invest in the equity of infrastructure projects, RDIF Director General Kirill Dmitriev said at the BRICS Business Council meeting in Ufa. "We have signed an MoU with five funds from our five countries: the Russian Direct Investment Fund, the Silk Road Fund from China, the IDFC (Infrastructure Development Finance Company) from India, the Development Bank of South Africa and the Brazil BTG Pactual fund," he said. Dmitriev said the funds are forming together the Infrastructure Fund Initiative (IFI) to work with sovereign funds, with the BRICS bank and invest in the equity of infrastructure projects, TASS news agency reported on Wednesday.

Source: IANS

Sensex tanks 475 points during afternoon trade (Lead)

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets, the 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex), on Wednesday tanked 475.17 points or 1.69 percent during the afternoon session. The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was also trading at 152.90 points or 1.80 percent down at 8,357.90 points. The Sensex of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 28,031.45 points, was trading at 27,696.52 points (at 01.02 p.m.) in the afternoon session, down 475.17 points or 1.69 percent from the previous day's close at 28,171.69 points. The Sensex has touched a high of 28,031.45 points and a low of 27,635.78 points in the trade so far.

Source: IANS

Bharti Enterprises selects new MD

Bharti Enterprises has appointed Rahul Bhatnagar its new managing director and chief financial officer, a company statement said here on Wednesday. Bhatnagar will report to Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman, Bharti Enterprises. Bhatnagar takes over from Manoj Kohli, who has assumed the role of executive chairman, SBG Cleantech - a joint venture between SoftBank, Bharti and Foxconn for renewable energy. In his new role, Bhatnagar will build strategic business value proposition for Bharti's non-telecom businesses. He will be responsible for further strengthening the financial management processes and governance of these businesses and also lead new business development for the group, the company statement said.

Source: IANS

Sensex tanks 265 points in early trade

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets, the 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex), on Wednesday was trading at 264.79 points or 0.94 percent down during the morning session. The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was also trading at 86.65 points or 1.02 percent down at 8,424.15 points. The Sensex of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 28,031.45 points, was trading at 27,906.90 points (at 9.17 a.m.) in the early session, down 264.79 points or 0.94 percent from the previous day's close at 28,171.69 points. The Sensex has touched a high of 28,031.45 points and a low of 27,879.16 points in the trade so far.

Source: IANS

Rajasthan approves seven investment projects

The Rajasthan government on Tuesday approved setting up of seven investment projects worth nearly Rs.4,000 crore. This was decided at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in Jaipur. "Seven investment projects worth Rs.3,981 crore were approved at the cabinet meeting held here. The projects are expected to create direct and indirect employment for about 17,000 people," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Singh Rathore told media persons. He said that out of these projects, two with investment of Rs.2,150 crores would be established at Karoli Industrial Area in Bhiwadi for manufacturing of mobile phones, LED TV and allied products.

Source: IANS

Five agreements inked between Indian, Kazakh biz firms

Five agreements, including a MoU in the railway sector between a Kazakh company and SEZ Adani Ports, were inked during the India-Kazakhstan Business Forum, which was addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Tuesday. The MoUs were: MoU for cooperation in the railway sector between National Company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy JSC and Special Economic Zone Adani Ports; MoU between Samruk Kazyna JSC and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) in the power sector; MoU between Invest India and National Export and Investment Agency 'Kaznex Invest' on bilateral investment promotion and promotion of Road Map; work plan on agricultural cooperation between the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) and KazAgro Innovation JSC; and agreement for establishment of Bilateral Business Council between FICCI and Chamber of International Commerce.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday touched on the shared Islamic heritage of India and Central Asia, which, he said, has always rejected the forces of extremism, as he urged for boosting defence and security cooperation to defend the region's peace and defeat terrorism and rising extremism. In his address at the Nazarbayev University in the Kazakh capital, Modi also said India's engagement with Central Asia has been short of promise and potential and added that he is determined to change it with closer cooperation.

Source: IANS

175,000 MW renewable power by 2022 a mission: Goyal

Power and New and Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that the target of generating 175,000 MW of renewable energy by 2022 should be taken up as a mission. He was speaking at the launch of the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency's (IREDA) loan scheme for rooftop solar power projects, an official statement said. The IREDA scheme will provide loans at interest rates of 9.9 to 10.75 percent to system aggregators and developers of rooftop solar, the new and renewable energy ministry said in the statement.

Source: IANS

Modi invites Kazakhstan to 'Make in India'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday urged Kazakhstan to participate in India's "Make in India" initiative, Smart Cities and urban infrastructure programme to create a win-win partnership. Addressing CEOs of both countries at a business meet, Modi also praised Kazakhstan's development and progress. He said Kazakhstan, despite being landlocked, has moved forward in development, which needs to be admired and praised. Citing the Satpayev oil block, in which India's OVL is participating, Modi said the oil block began exploratory drilling on Tuesday.

Source: IANS

No coercive action against tobacco manufacturers, sellers: Court

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday restrained the state government from taki ng any coercive action against three tobacco manufacturers till July 16. Hearing a bunch of pleas filed by tobacco manufacturers challenging the ban on sale of chewable tobacco in the national capital, Justice V.P. Vaish granted protection to the manufacturers on the basis of similar order passed by him earlier in few matters, and also issued notice to Delhi government's food safety commissioner. The three companies - Shivam Betelnut Pvt. Ltd., Mahalaxmidevi Flavours Pvt. Ltd. and Rajat Industries Pvt. Ltd. - had moved the court, seeking parity with other companies who got relief from the court on the same issue. On April 8, the high court had restrained the government from taking any action against sellers and man ufacturers.

Source: IANS

Can't pay Rs.36,000 crore in 18 months, Sahara tells SC

The Sahara Group on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that it was not possible for it to repay, in 18 months, Rs.36,000 crore of investors' money that it had collected in 2007-08 in 18 months as was ordered by the court on June 17. "There is no business house in the country or in the world which can deposit Rs.36,000 crore in 18 months time," senior counsel Kapil Sibal, appearing for jailed Sahara chief Subrata Roy, told a bench of Justice T.S.Thakur, Justice Anil R.Dave and Justice A.K.Sikri. He said that he was getting an application ready that would be moved in a week's time pointing to the difficulty in arranging Rs.36,000 crore to return the investors money.